Comparison of data from two remote sources is done for various reasons; preferably, the data sets are aligned, so that accurate comparison is possible. This is true regardless of whether the data is transmitted synchronously or asynchronously.
One example of a system using data comparison is a differential relay which is used for protection of an electric power system. The relay in operation compares the electrical current values on the power line at a local source of electric current values (referred to as the local relay) and a remote source of current values on the same line (referred to as the remote relay). If the current differential comparisons performed by the relay are to be accurate, initial alignment of the two sets of data (from the local and remote sources) before the comparisons are made is important.
Other applications where alignment of data is important are well known. These include, among others, event recorder systems and breaker failure systems in power protection applications and metering systems, which are broader than power protection, as well as other situations where alignment of data between local and remote sources is important, typically for comparison purposes.
Basically, the alignment problem with two sets of data occurs because of differences in the sampling of the two data sets, one local data set and one remote. The sampling for instance could be different in phase, or the sampling frequency could be different between the two data sets. These differences result in an unknown and changing phase shift between the two data sets. Further, the sampled data from the remote source, when transmitted to the local source for comparison, arrives with a time differential relative to the sampled data at the local source, due to the unknown transmission time (delay) between the two data sources.